The Six Nations needed fireworks this weekend – and the tournament finally delivered

With plenty of other big events happening, two dramatic matches helped the rugby make an impact on the sports section, writes Jack de Menezes

Ireland’s Jacob Stockdale (right) gets away from England’s Courtney Lawes during the game at Twickenham (PA)

It was earmarked as the weekend when the Six Nations was on the line, and so it proved. Luckily for rugby union, the championship came through with flying colours.

I don’t mean the title, which looks as though it will still have two more rounds to play out before a 2020 champion can be crowned, but rather the fight to be visible among the British press at all. After two rather uninspiring rounds of rugby, the Six Nations needed something to jolt it into life and grab the attention of a public that had plenty more sport on offer.

Tyson Fury’s stunning victory in Las Vegas overnight came too late to make the Sunday papers, meaning his image would be guaranteed to be plastered across the front and back pages on Monday morning. And with both Manchester United and Arsenal in Premier League action – and Liverpool’s Monday night clash with West Ham being previewed too – space was in short supply for rugby to make an impact.

The presence of the sport took a secondary blow when the weekend opened with a dull affair in Rome, where Scotland laboured to a 17-0 win over Italy that only prompted more calls for the hosts to be dumped from the championship.

The championship needed something big to save the weekend, and boy did it deliver.

The three-hour trip down the M4 can prove a torturous one at times thanks to the ongoing roadworks and speed limitations, but what Wales and France served up on Saturday afternoon in Cardiff made the journey from London more than worthwhile in what proved to be one of those games you feel privileged to be at. From the pre-match atmosphere to France’s continuing revival and the hosts’ late fightback, the match had everything you could ask for and more from a Six Nations clash.

Thankfully England picked up the baton on Sunday with one of their most convincing Six Nations displays in more than a decade, as the near 82,000 in attendance at Twickenham watched a dominant display pick Ireland apart for their third consecutive match between the two sides.

The two headline performances ensured that when the papers went to press on Sunday night, no fewer than nine nationals had rugby splashed on the back page, while three of those elected to place it on the front page too. After two storm-affected weekends, we finally got a reminder of what is great and good about this fine tournament.

Yours,

Jack de Menezes

Deputy sports editor